Page 68 of Lust

“You need to see this,” he says, then turns and strides away.

CHAPTER FORTY

SYDNEY

My sex high deflates faster than a burst balloon at Roman’s words, and I hurry around the room looking for some bottoms to put on.

Spinning around, Blake stands there holding a pair of shorts. When I go to take them, he pulls them out of my reach.

“Blake,” I warn, not in the mood for games now.

“Hey, breathe, Syd. You’ll be no good to anyone if you panic,” he says, then holds out the shorts for me to take.

Despite my initial jolt of anger at him telling me not to panic, I do as he suggested and take a breath. Quietly berating myself for succumbing to my desires while others suffer.

“Thanks,” I say, then we head after Roman.

When we get downstairs, Oz is in the kitchen with Roman.

“What’s happened? Is it Pa?” I blurt out, panic rising again.

“Where’s your phone?” Roman asks.

“Er, I…think it’s in my room. Why?”

“Your father’s phone pinged an hour ago.” He holds a hand up as I open my mouth to speak. “It was only for a few minutes before it blinked out again.”

I’m running up the stairs before he’s even finished talking. The floor is littered with the clothes I was wearing last night, andI search for the vest. I find it and pull out my phone from the pocket.

There’s a message. From Pa.

I stare at it like it’s a bomb.

I hear Roman calling my name and snapping me from my daze. When I get back downstairs, all three of them are watching me as I approach holding the offending phone like a fragile China doll.

“There’s a message…from Pa,” I say nervously.

Blake steps forward. “What does it say, Syd?”

I shake my head, looking up and meeting his eyes. “I don’t know. I’m scared to open it.”

He holds his hand out. “May I?”

I nod as I pass it to him, holding my breath as he opens the message. His brow furrows a little as he reads, and it only heightens my anxiety.

“What is it? What does it say?” I ask, firing questions at him while shifting from foot to foot.

“It’s an address,” Blake says, meeting my eyes. He turns the phone so I can see it. “Do you recognise it?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

Blake passes the phone to Roman. “That what I think it is?”

I’m confused. What does he think it is?

“Yeah. Oz?” He looks to Oz for confirmation, but I’m still unsure of the relevance of the address.

Oz gives an almost imperceptible nod of his head.

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